Research Methods/Types of Research 1

Research Methods/Types of ResearchTYPOLOGY OF RESEARCH

Research can be classified in many different ways on the basis of

the methodology of research. The knowledge it creates, the user group,

the research problem it investigates etc,.

BASIC RESEARCHThe research which is done for knowledge enhancement, the research which does not have immediate commercialpotential. The research which is done for human welfare, animal welfare and plant kingdom welfare. It is calledbasic,pure,fundamental research. The main motivation is to expand man's knowledge, not to create or inventsomething. There is no obvious commercial value to the discoveries that result from basic research. Basic researchlay down the foundation for the applied research. Dr.G.Smoot says “people cannot foresee the future well enough topredict what is going to develop from the basic research” Eg:-how did the universe begin?APPLIED RESEARCHApplied research is designed to solve practical problem of the modern world, rather than to acquire knowledge forknowledges sake. The goal of applied research is to improve the human condition. It focus on analysis and solvingsocial and real life problems. This research is generally conducted on large scale basis, it is expensive. As such, itoften conducted with the support of some financing agency like government , public corporation , world bank,UNICEF, UGC,Etc,. According to hunt, “applied research is an investigation for ways of using scientific knowledgeto solve practical problems” for example:- improve agriculture crop production, treat or cure a specific disease,improve the energy efficiency homes, offices, how can communication among workers in large companies beimproved? Applied research can be further classified as problem oriented and problem solving research. Problemoriented research:- research is done by industry apex body for sorting out problems faced by all the companies. Eg:-WTO does problem oriented research for developing countries, in india agriculture and processed food exportdevelopment authority (APEDA) conduct regular research for the benefit of agri-industry. Problem solving:-this typeof research is done by an individual company for the problem faced by it. Marketing research and market researchare the applied research. For eg:- videocon international conducts research to study customer satisfaction level, itwill be problem solving research. In short, the main aim of applied research is to discover some solution for somepressing practical problem.QUANTITATIVE RESEARCHQuantitative research aim to measure the quantity or amount and compares it with past records and tries to projectfor future period. In social sciences, “quantitative research refers to the systematic empirical investigation ofquantitative properties and phenomena and their relationships”. The objective of quantitative research is to developand employ mathematical models, theories or hypothesis pertaining to phenomena. The process of measurement iscentral to quantitative research because it provides fundamental connection between empirical observation andmathematical expression of quantitative relationships. Statistics is the most widely used branch of mathematics inquantitative research. Statistical methods are used extensively with in fields such as economics and commerce.Quantitative research involving the use of structured questions, where the response options have beenPre-determined and large number of respondents is involved.eg:-total sales of soap industry interms of rupees coresand or quantity interms of lakhs tones for particular year, say 2008,could be researched, compared with past 5 yearsand then projection for 2009 could be made.QUALITATIVE RESEARCH.Qualitative research presents non-qualitative type of analysis. Qualitative research is collecting, analyzing andinterpreting data by observing what people do and say. Qualitative research research refers to the meanings,

Research Methods/Types of Research 2

definitions, characteristics, symbols, metaphors, and description of things. Qualitative research is much moresubjective and uses very different methods of collecting information,mainly individual, indepth interviews and focusgroups. The nature of this type of research is exploratory and open ended. Small number of people are interviewed indepth and or a relatively small number of focus groups are conducted. Qualitative research can be further classifiedin the following type. I. Phenomenology:-a form of research in which the researcher attempts to understand how oneor more individuals experience a phenomenon. Eg:-we might interview 20 victims of bhopal tragedy. II.Ethnography:- this type of research focuses on describing the culture of a group of people. A culture is the sharedattributes, values, norms, practices, language, and material things of a group of people. Eg:-the researcher mightdecide to go and live with the tribal in Andaman island and study the culture and the educational practices. III. Casestudy:-is a form of qualitative research that is focused on providing a detailed account of one or more cases

Eg:-we may study a classroom that was given a new curriculum for technology use.

IV. Grounded theory:- it is an inductive type of research,based or grounded in the observations of data from which itwas developed; it uses a variety of data sources, including quantitative data, review of records, interviews,observation and surveys V. Historical research:-it allows one to discuss past and present events in the context of thepresent condition, and allows one to reflect and provide possible answers to current issues and problems. Eg:-thelending pattern of business in the 19th century.In addition to the above, we also have the descriptive research Fundermental research, of which this is based onestablishing various theoriesAlso the research is classified in to 1. Descriptive research 2. Analytical research 3. Fundamental research 4.Conceptual research 5. Empirical research 6. One time research or longitudinal research 7. Field-setting research orlaboratory research or simulation research 8. Clinical or diagnostic research 9. Exploratory research 10.Historicalresearch 11.conclusion oriented research

Article Sources and Contributors 3

Article Sources and ContributorsResearch Methods/Types of Research  Source: http://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?oldid=2616361  Contributors: Dennism, Eternal-Entropy, J36miles, Mathonius, Recent Runes, 11anonymous edits

LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/